Freshwater Fishing Discussion of all aspects of freshwater fishing.

Ice Fishing

Old 01-09-2022, 10:52 AM
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Dominant Buck
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Default Ice Fishing

Been ice fishing for a couple weeks now. Been a slow bite so far but things should pick up soon as more ice sets up. I have some spots where I could use my wheeler but still waiting for parts for my injured truck (hit a deer) and the rental doesn't have a hitch to tow a trailer. Getting some decent yellow perch and had one 2 days ago that weighed 1.25 pounds. Luckily we don't have much snow on the ice so pulling a sled isn't bad but it would certainly be easier on my ATV.
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Old 01-10-2022, 11:15 AM
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Dominant Buck
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Had a better day after a long walk out to a spot I saved from last year on my Fish Smart app by Humminbird. The bite started slow and I picked a few smallish yellow perch. I switched lures (we call them bibbits here) and made the drop in 12 FOW. The bibbit hit bottom and I lifted it up about 6 inches and felt a strong bite and then pulled up a 12 inch perch that weighed 3/4 of a pound. The school was under me and I pulled up a nice perch on every drop. The bibbits are basically a painted piece of lead embedded with a hook. There is no bait used and the hook doesn't have a barb so when you pull up the perch and dunk it in a bucket or on the ice it usually comes off the hook which eliminates handing the fish. You can cycle through pretty rapidly and pull up several fish in a minute. The school was large fish and after a couple hours I had filled all 3 of my pails and decided it was time to quit. I had several fish that were over a pound and ended up with somewhere around 120 pounds of nice yellow perch. My fish broker will be happy.
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Old 01-11-2022, 08:09 AM
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JW
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I picked some new Tip Downs for my crappie/ walleye trips. Made by Sullivan. I do like the lighted clear tube.
And im researching Bluetipz. A bluetooth device that tells you fish on.

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Old 01-11-2022, 10:43 AM
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Dominant Buck
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Sounds high tech Dave....
21 below wind chill today so I stayed home but plan to hit it again tomorrow.

lol
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Old 01-11-2022, 10:53 AM
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JW
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Ha i never do anything simple anymore.
15 below this morning but is in the high teens now.
Ill write a review on those Bluetipz

Last edited by JW; 01-11-2022 at 11:55 AM.
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Old 01-11-2022, 11:55 AM
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My Blue TipZ where just delivered. I can't wait to hit the ice now.
It is a Bluetooth transmitter that attaches to you tip up flag just like a night light.
When a flag goes up or a rod tip goes down because of a fish bite it sends a signal to your phone alerting you of a bite! Each tip up will be numbered. Each device has its own ringtone played on your phone.And it also has a flashing light when activated!
Now to test them out.
The phone App was free on Playstore

JW

Last edited by JW; 01-11-2022 at 11:57 AM.
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Old 01-11-2022, 12:26 PM
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Dominant Buck
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When my fish bites I feel it, set the hook and reel it up. No bells and whistles...lol
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Old 01-12-2022, 06:57 AM
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Do you fish multiple lines?
Beer in one hand rod in the other but i gotta cover the 2 sets i have out.
or the cribbage game is fast and furious while hunkered down in the central hut!

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Old 01-12-2022, 07:34 AM
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Dominant Buck
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No hut even though I do own a clam pop up. I like the freedom of being outside. I fish 1 line with 1 lure and move until I find fish. I target pan fish commercially and fish most days. Today wasn't going to happen with winds at 23 MPH and temps in the 10 to 15 range. Right now I am going for yellow perch but often especially later in the season the gills sunnies and crappie are my targets. I use a custom 30 inch CP2 big eyed rod rod with a Pflueger 30 series presidential reel and 6 pound Trilene sensation in solar for the perch. My flat fish rods are 30 inch HT blue ultra lite with a direct wind reel loaded with 4 pound Trilene sensation in solar. Perch lures are always those bibbits I talked about and I use rockers, demons and a few other small jigs tipped with maggots for the flat fish. I have a 6" fin bore auger powered by a Dewalt cordless hammer drill. I use 7 gallon buckets with a seat to sit on and carry fish all towed in an big otter sled. A decent day for me is 100 pounds on both perch and flat fish. I get around on a 750 Suzuki King Quad with power steering with chains on the rear wheels. My ice suit is a floating outfit made by Striker and my boots are muck Arctic pros with Kahtoola micro spikes for traction. Our season here usually starts the week before Christmas and lasts until ice out which usually happens around the first of April. Some of the best fishing is later in the season. I don't target larger fish but do catch a fair amount of bass and northern pike when fishing for flat fish in the weedy back bays. The perch are often in the broad lake and an occasional lake trout or lake white fish will show up as unintended catch. My house is on the broad lake side and so far it has not frozen but as soon as it sets up I'll be walking out there for some good large perch bites.
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Old 01-13-2022, 04:37 AM
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I've been out a couple of times this year. Nothing too exciting yet. It will pick up when I get my truck fixed.
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